Lionsgate via Everett Collection
I wasn’t entirely sure I’d be able to get past the fact that Bill Hader’s name is Milo. This was the forerunner of a number of elements that seemed to introduce The Skeleton Twins as an aggressively “Sundancey” picture: Hader and Kristen Wiig, estranged siblings living a country apart, both attempt suicide at the precise same moment, executing their mirror glowers and macabre goodbye letters in nearly perfect harmony; it’s that combination of dark and cute on which a generation of independent film was founded. But once the distance is mended — Maggie (Wiig) is brought to the bedside of her hospitalized brother — Skeleton Twins finds its pulp: the chemistry between the titular sibs.
A film like Skeleton Twins rests its weight on whether or not its principal characters can be believed (and loved) as family. Where many fail, Twins strikes gold: we’ve seen Hader and Wiig play husband and wife, Californian lovers, game show host and incompetent contestant, and phone sex perpetrators rivaling for the vocal company of Joaquin Phoenix, but history does not dissuade entry into what makes for a touching, challenging fraternity in this film.
Lionsgate via Everett Collection
Individually, their performances sparkle too. Hader is fun as the frustrated, pithy fish-out-of-water (back in his hometown, appropriately) failed actor Milo, and Wiig duly charming as a woman suffocated by her marriage to the impossibly nice Lance (Luke Wilson, being tolerable). But it’s the togetherness — and the film’s permission to let the old friends play to their hearts’ content — that wins us over. The banter, the shtick, the “up” moments.
But this dynamic chemistry comes at a price: Hader and Wiig are so effortlessly good together, we find it difficult to believe they ever might have let the years pass by without contact. Each is so readily funny that it is difficult to understand what brought them both to suicide at the film’s dawn. Skeleton Twins is so good at the up moments that it practically uproots the down, rendering its emotional core something of a nonentity.
Still, Skeleton Twins lives up to its principal promise: a funny, sweet, more or less impressive platform for Hader and Wiig. They show off what we love about them and what we’ve long hoped we’d get to see, leaving plenty of room for growth in the next optimistic installment. And, miraculously, they manage to overcome the anchors of a movie that introduces itself as insistently “indie” as this one does.
3/5
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Veteran punk rockers The Replacements are returning to America's NBC network nearly 30 years after they were banned from sketch show Saturday Night Live. The Minnesota quartet served as musical guests for the long-running show in January 1986, but their performance caused controversy as they took to the stage drunk on live TV and shocked viewers when they stumbled around the set, dropped their instruments and mouthed profanities.
They were slapped with a permanent ban by SNL bosses, but on Tuesday (09Sep14) the reunited group will return to 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City to perform on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, which films just a few floors down from the SNL studio.
The Replacements ended their 22-year hiatus by returning to the stage at Riot Fest last year (13), and they are set to play their first headlining show in their hometown since 1991 as part of a comeback tour this Saturday (13Sep14).

Getty Images/Jason LaVeris
"It's Saturday Night Live!" will forever be the four words we associate with Don Pardo, announcer for the NBC variety show for nearly 40 years, who passed away Monday night at the age of 96 (via CBS News). Since 1975 — with only a single season-long hiatus in the early '80s — Pardo's inimitable timber introduced us to SNL’s stars, featured players, musical guests, and episode hosts, earning a permanent residence in the pop culture realm’s collective auditory cortex. But there’s more to the man than his weekly exclamations from the announcing booth at Studio 8-H. Pardo’s 75-year-long career took him to a multitude of interesting corners that we so often overlook:
Let the Games BeginA staff fixture at NBC, Pardo announced the original iterations of many of its game shows, including The Price Is Right (from 1956 to ’63) and Jeopardy! (from ’64 to ’75), as well as later programs Three on a Match, Winning Streak, and Jackpot! between ’71 and ’75.
Happy Turkey Day!For many years, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade presented its army of inflatable cartoon characters with the gravitas of Pardo’s smooth baritone. Pardo announced the annual event for NBC straight up through 1999.
NBC via Getty Images
And That’s the NewsPardo boasted a longstanding career as a news broadcaster, both on radio and television; he started out as a World War II reporter for NBC Radio. On the date of John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Pardo announced the tragedy to NBC’s television audience, becoming one of the first parties to report on the death of the 35th president.
He Also Had a Musical SidePardo proved his tastes in music to be rather esoteric when he teamed with the likes of Frank Zappa and Weird Al Yankovic for performances and recordings. Pardo first collaborated with Zappa in 1976 on a rendition of “I’m the Slime,” and then again joined forces with the innovative rock artist for his live album Zappa in New York in ’78.
Five years later, Pardo would pay homage to his game show era by contributing vocally to Weird Al’s “I Lost on Jeopardy” as well as appearing in the music video.
Of Course, He Had His Woody CredAn honorary New Yorker, Pardo managed to work his way into the filmography of Woody Allen, appearing in the 1987 comedy Radio Days as a host of the Name That Tune parody “Guess That Tune.” His acting career beyond the Allen picture includes Honeymoon in Vegas and the John Ritter comedy Stay Tuned.
And He Could Take a JokePardo was a hard worker until the very end — flying back and forth between his home in Arizona and New York City every week to announce episodes of SNL — but was hardly a man who took himself too seriously. This is evident by his self-parodying appearances on The Simpsons and SNL vet Tina Fey’s 30 Rock.
Naturally, we will always remember Pardo best for his work on Saturday Night Live, but there is clearly a lot more to celebrate about the man, his indomitable career, and his unmistakable voice.

Getty Images/John Ricard
Now that they're done sailing on a boat, hugging it and quitting it, and doing the Creep, The Lonely Island boys are finally ready to tackle their biggest project yet: a feature film. The comedy group, made up of Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer, and Golden Globe-winner Andy Samberg, is set to star in and produce a musical comedy for Universal (via Variety). Shaffer and Taccone will also be stepping behind the camera to co-direct the project, and Judd Apatow has also signed on as a producer. Thus far, no information about the project's plot or title have been released, but based on the three comedy albums and hundreds of Digital Shorts that the team has created over the past decade, it seems likely to contain plenty of celebrity cameos, hip hop influences and people's junk in inappropriate places. In fact, it wouldn't be much of a surprise if the group decided to look to their musical sketches for cinematic inspiration; after all, the trio has produced a great deal of ridiculous and memorable characters and more than enough absurd premises to provide the basis for a full-length film. We decided to take a look back at Lonely Island's 10 best sketches in order to see if we could predict who (and what) is most likely to appear in the upcoming movie. Something's got to work better than Hot Rod, right?
10) “YOLO” Like most of the group's sketches, “YOLO” relies on a one-joke premise: treating the phrase “YOLO” as a cautionary tale rather than a celebration of adventures. But it’s a great example of Lonely Island's ability to build on that one joke, moving slowly from “be careful” to “never leave your house” to a terrifying shot of them smiling gummy smiles after pulling out all of their teeth. It also happens to be an incredibly well-crafted pop song, which shows how far the group has come in terms of musicality. Could It Be a Movie? There might be enough in the premise in order to create a funny side character, but it’s hard to see how much further the guys would be able to take a joke that ends with them cowering toothless in a boarded-up house.
9) “Great Day” “Great Day” is a rapid-fire barrage of jokes, but what’s great about them is that they all build on each other to tell a complete story. From the first moments when the camera pans through Dennis’ dirty apartment, you already know that the actual song won’t be as upbeat and cheery as the background music. The juxtaposition between the Sesame Street nature of Dennis' adventure through the streets and what he’s actually singing makes it even funnier when he finally loses it and starts climbing trees and pretending he’s in the Matrix. Could It Be a Movie? Maybe not a full-length movie, but there’s probably enough tragedy and insanity in Dennis’ life to make an interesting short film.
The Lonely Island - Great Day from Mike Oxbig on Vimeo.
8) “3-Way (Golden Rule)” There’s a lot that goes into making “3-Way” such a solid sketch: the idea that these guys would do just about anything to hook up with a girl, the fact that it finally establishes them in a pre-cell phone era, the plethora of multi-colored outfits, the fact that Justin Timerlake’s character met their cutie at a Payless, and then the final reveal that they’re much more interested in each other than in the girl they came to see. It takes the original “D**k in a Box” joke to absurd new heights and throws in a bunch of tiny, subtle jokes to create a sketch that actually gets better the more you watch it. Could This Be a Movie? Are you kidding? We’d watch anything with Timberlake and Samberg’s R&amp;B wannabes in it, and an epic tale about their love and the girl who came between them has great cinematic potential.
7) “Like a Boss” “Like a Boss” is another great example of The Lonely Island’s ability to turn a single joke into a chronicle of one man’s breakdown. However, it owes just as much to Seth Rogen, whose incredulous looks punctuate every unbelievable claim that Samberg makes perfectly. It kind of fall apart towards the end as the Boss’ actions escalate, but it’s that middle bit, where Samberg first starts to hint at how messed up he is and Rogen just starts to get uncomfortable, where this sketch truly shines. Could This Be a Movie? Probably not. The Lonely Island managed to do everything it possibly could with that one joke in two minutes, and any longer would probably ruin things.
The Lonely Island like a boss from lewroll21 on Vimeo.
6) “I’m on a Boat” Look, “I’m On a Boat” is a pretty dumb song as a whole, but the lyrics are some of the finest Lonely Island has ever written. They’re generally simple – the chorus is just “I’m on a boat” repeated over and over again – but the verse slowly builds from the standard party rap song to rhyming about nautical-themed pashmina afghans in a way that’s truly clever and inventive. Simplistic enough to stick in your head, but complex enough to make you laugh, it’s no wonder it became one of their biggest hits. After all, when was the last time you managed to resist singing this song anytime you were in the same vicinity of a boat? Could This Be a Movie? Only if it’s about the love story between T-Pain and that mermaid; that’s what we really want to see more of.
5) “Space Olympics” Less a song than a sketch that happened to have been run through auto-tune, “Space Olympics” is a truly ridiculous, truly epic piece of work that’s most remarkable for the sheer world-building it does in the confines of three minutes. Sure, it’s mostly a joke about the dumb events that would make up a future Olympics, but the glimpses of a resource-lacking, poorly-run sporting event and the incompetent bureaucrat put in charge is a clever, well-crafted piece of satire. Could This Be a Movie? Definitely. We’d pay good money to see Samberg’s ridiculous ambassador attempt to rebuild the Space Olympics on his own. It’s true underdog story.
The Lonely Island - Space Olympics from Jeff Wiggles on Vimeo.
4) “Dear Sister” Anyone can parody a soapy teen drama like The O.C., but “Dear Sister” manages to take the single most ridiculous, shark-jumping moment in that show’s history and make it even more absurd and melodramatic. The close-ups, the music, the slow-mo – it all comes together to make a wonderfully surreal sketch that is just the right amount of dumb. Plus it contains what is perhaps the finest performance of Shia LaBeouf’s career. Could This Be a Movie? Unfortunately, no, but it would make for an incredibly dramatic climax.
3) “D**k in A Box” Perhaps the greatest use of a one-joke premise in The Lonely Island’s career, “D**k In a Box” is remarkably clever for a song about a dude gifting his junk for the holidays. But as hysterical as the facial hair and smooth falsettos are, the true highlight of the song is its two breakdowns. The ending where the gifting occasions slowly become more and more inappropriate is one of Lonely Island's best uses of escalation. But it’s the second verse, where the lyrics basically explain the whole joke of the song with slow jam earnestness, that’s the real triumph, as instead of killing the whole premise, it actually just heightens the ridiculousness of the situation. Could This Be a Movie? You mean someone’s not already making a film about these two idiots?
2) “Lazy Sunday” The Digital Sketch that kicked everything off, “Lazy Sunday” has everything that would eventually become The Lonely Island’s hallmarks: a simplistic premise, clever rhymes that tell a story about a slightly unusual character, plenty of pop culture references, a catchy, repetitive chorus, and old-school video effects. The jokes might be somewhat dated now, but the sketch as a whole holds up well. Even all these years later, it's a modern classic. Could This Be a Movie? It would be a relatively uneventful one... but sure, why not? We’d love to see The Lonely Island attempt a full-length character study.
1) “Mother Lover” Like Spider-Man 2 before it, “Mother Lover” proves that sometimes the sequel is, indeed, better than the original. Unlike “D**k in a Box” and “3-Way,” it immediately introduces a conflict into the situation (they need a last-minute Mother’s Day present) and reveal some important character backstory about the characters (they were raised by single moms who are lonely, and happen to like baths with chamomile) before reveling in the absurd solution they come up with. They might think it’s the second best idea that they’ve ever had, but thanks to the goofy lyrics, dramatic delivery and the way Susan Sarandon and Patricia Clarkson ham it up in increasingly dumb situations, it’s definitely the best sketch The Lonely Island has ever written. Could This Be a Movie? We’re ready to buy tickets the second they go on sale. Come on, Timberlake, this could finally make you a movie star. You know you want to make this movie.
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Universal Pictures via Everett Collection
Get your fresh-squeezed pink lemonade and don’t forget to take a puppy on the way out: the follow-up to Bridesmaids is on its way. Kristen Wiig and co-writer and creative partner Annie Mumolo revealed Wednesday to the New York Times that they’re beginning work on a new film, which will see the pair play best friends who “find themselves in over their heads and out of their depths, which were, perhaps, not too deep to begin with.” The film, which as of right now has neither a title nor a tentative release date, will also center around a town called Vista Del Mar, and is slated to become Wiig’s directorial debut.
In a statement about the project, Wiig revealed that she has been interested in stepping behind the camera for some time now, and felt that this project is the perfect opportunity for her first go. But this film wouldn’t just mark Wiig’s directorial debut; it would also mark the first time that a female cast member on Saturday Night Live has helmed a feature film.
Though former featured player Laura Kightlinger directed the 2003 documentary 60 Spins Around the Sun, a picture about the career of comedian Randy Credico, none of the women from the historic series has managed to make the jump over to narrative film directing in the last 40 years. However, many male regulars have moved behind the camera – everyone from Bill Murray to Harry Shearer to Chris Rock to Ben Stiller has directed movies, many of which are critically-acclaimed. While directors in general tend to be overwhelmingly male, it’s most surprising that SNL, a show which has a reputation for producing multi-hyphenate artists who are adept at a number of skills and genres, still has yet to produce a female director from among its ranks of repertory players.
After all, plenty of those actors are household names by the time that they leave the show. They spend most of their time on SNL heavily involved in the creative process, developing and writing their own material week in and week out, and often help make decisions about costuming, staging, and performance choices. All of those experiences and talents would lend themselves to directing. We'd expect many performers and writers with experiences in these fields to gravitate behind the camera at some point. So, why, then have so few of SNL’s female performers made the jump?
Despite the success of female-fronted and written films like Bridesmaids, it’s still much harder for women in Hollywood to get projects greenlit by studios than it is for men. Studios still assume that male audiences don’t want to see films about or for women, even though many female-fronted comedies over the last few years have gone on to become some of the most successful films of all time. Bridesmaids is the seventh highest-grossing R-rated comedy ever made, and yet the industry still treats its success as an anomaly that won’t be repeated. Considering how difficult it has been for many of the women on SNL to break into film as performers, it makes sense that they’d struggle even more to get a directing project financed.
Still, there is some hope that things will get better soon. Tri-Star Entertainment trusting Wiig to direct her follow-up to Bridesmaids – a film that is under a great deal of pressure, since Wiig and Mumolo rightly refused to make a unnecessary sequel – is a major sign of confidence not only in Wiig, but in women-fronted films in general. It may only be possible because of her first project’s massive success, but it’s still a major step forward, especially since studios have begun to trust other women-centric comedies to female directors, like Elizabeth Banks and Pitch Perfect 2. There are also a few SNL alums making their directorial debuts on TV shows, like Amy Poehler, who has helmed episodes of Parks and Recreation and Broad City, and that experience will help convince studios to hire more women on their projects. Not to mention plenty of women who, like Wiig, have often-stated an interest in directing (both Poehler and Tina Fey have expressed the desire to tackle a film soon), and more big-name performers stepping behind the scenes will help open the door for women who might not be as instantly recognizable.
Unfortunately, though, studios still see female-fronted and -directed films as a risk, which makes it difficult for women to break into different roles. It’s depressing that Wiig, despite becoming a household name thanks to her time on Saturday Night Live, is the first female cast member to make the jump to directing. The show produces plenty of multi-talented women, and between the clout and name-recognition that SNL gives them, their ability to adapt to a variety of tasks and situations, and the way audiences are begging for more female-centric films, hiring more of those women to follow in Wiig’s footsteps would be a risk worth taking.
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FOX Broadcasting
When Fox announced that they were dropping the standard pilot-season model of developing new TV shows; it earned them a great deal of attention from fans and critics. So when they unveiled their Fall 2014-2015 schedule, everyone's focus went straight to the slate of new shows premiering in the next few months — after all, they have to be good if Fox is willing to gamble on a brand new way of doing things. In certain cases, it seems like the gamble might just have paid off — you can't go wrong with Batman or British remakes, right? - but others seem like they'll only rub salt in the wound of recent cancellations.
We've run down all of Fox's upcoming series in order to predict which ones will live up to the hype and be worth your time come fall. Although sadly, none of them seem likely to fill the Enlisted-shaped hole in our hearts.
Gotham What It Is: DramaWhat It's About: Following Det. Jim Gordon and the Gotham City Police Department as they deal with the crime and corruption that plagues the city, and Gordon attempts to find Who's In It: Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue, Sean Pertwee and Jada Pinkett-SmithWhat It Sounds Like: It's basically Batman, minus Batman himself. How Good Will It Be: Based on the first trailer for the show, it looks like it could be exciting and gritty, although tiny Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle do make us a bit wary. Still, it's got a talented cast on board, so if the show can keep the visuals and story interesting, it could be surprisingly good. How Long It Will Last: At least two seasons. Fox has thrown a lot of support behind Gotham, so they won't let it go easily.
UtopiaWhat It Is: Reality showWhat It's About: 15 people move to an isolated, undeveloped location for a year and attempt to build their own society from scratch. Who's In It: No word yet, but they have to be crazy if they're willing to sign up for this. What It Sounds Like: Big Brother meets Survivor, with a dash of Kid Nation. How Good Will It Be: It depends entirely on the cast, but our best bet is that it will either be outright terrible, or horrifically entertaining. How Long It Will Last: Unfortunately, it will probably run for ten years.
Red Band SocietyWhat It Is: Drama What It's About: A coming-of-age story set in the pediatric ward of a hospital that follows a group of patients as they grow, bond, and battle illnesses. Who's In It: Octavia Spencer, Griffin Gluck, Charlie Rowe, Dave Annable, Brian Bradley aka Astro, Ciara Bravo and Zoe LevinWhat It Sounds Like: One Tree Hill meets Grey's Anatomy, except only one person is in a coma. How Good Will It Be: Spencer is generally the best part of everything she does, but even she might not be enough to make the many elements of this show — comedy, drama, tear-jerking moments of triumph, general teenage drama, hospital administration — blend well together. How Long It Will Last: About a season. Even if it is good, it will probably struggle to find an audience.
GracepointWhat It Is: Drama What It's About: Based on the British series Broadchurch, it centers on a small town and the murder that upends the lives of all of its residents. Who's In It: David Tennant, Anna Gunn, Michael Peña, Jacki Weaver, Kevin Zegers and Jessica LucasWhat It Sounds Like: It's literally just Broadchurch with Tennant doing an American accent. How Good Will It Be: A lot depends on how much they take from the original, but since that was such a good series and they've got a fantastic cast on board, things look good for Gracepoint. How Long It Will Last: At least three seasons, regardless of how closely it hews to the original.
Backstrom What It Is: Drama What It's About: A crime procedural about an obnoxious and offensive, but brilliant detective who is brought back from exile to run the special crimes unit. Who's In It: Rainn Wilson, Dennis Haysbert, Thomas Dekker, Beatrice Rosen and Kristoffer PolahaWhat It Sounds Like: Every other "rogue cop" procedural that's hit the air in the last few year, but with Dwight from The OfficeHow Good Will It Be: It has a pretty decent cast, but the premise is something we've seen before many times, with varying levels of success, so there's a lot against it. A lot is riding on Wilson, although it's his first real foray into drama, which also doesn't bode well. How Long It Will Last: Like almost every other crime procedural premiering this fall, it will probably be canceled within the year.
Mulaney What It Is: SitcomWhat It's About: An aspiring stand-up comic gets a job writing jokes for a narcissistic comedian and game show host, which causes conflict between him and his two best friends and roommates. Who's In It: John Mulaney, Martin Short, Nasim Pedrad, Seaton Smith and Elliott GouldWhat It Sounds Like: Seinfeld meets New Girl, with a touch of 30 Rock How Good Will It Be: The cast is fantastic, but multi-cam sitcoms can be pretty hit or miss, and this one was dropped by NBC and then reworked before FOX picks it up. However, the combination of SNL alums and comic legends means this one will probably be one of your new favorite shows. How Long It Will Last: Sunday night at 9:30 is a tough slot, but we think this one will scrape its way to a second season.
FOX Broadcasting
EmpireWhat It Is: Drama What It's About: It follows Lucious Lyon, the head of a major hip hop record label and the ex-wife and family who are competing to take over the family business. Who's In It: Terrence Howard, Taraji P. Henson, Gabourey Sidibe, Bryshere Gray, Jussie Smollett, Trai Byers and Kaitlin DoubledayWhat It Sounds Like: Hustle and Flow meets Nashville How Good Will It Be: Empire has a lot of big-name talent behind it - in addition to the Oscar-nominated cast, it was created by Lee Daniels and written by Danny Strong — but it seems like the kind of show that would fare better on cable, so it might end up being a little lackluster. How Long It Will Last: Well, Nashville got three seasons, so we're predicting Empire will get the same.
Hieroglyph What It Is: Drama What It's About: After he gets caught stealing a magic scroll, a thief is brought to work for the Pharaoh, only to discover that court might be more dangerous than prison. Who's In It: Max Brown, Reece Ritchie, Condola Rashad, Caroline Ford and John Rhys-DaviesWhat It Sounds Like: Game of Thrones meets Sleepy Hollow, set in Ancient Egypt. How Good Will It Be: It's written by Travis Beacham, who wrote Pacific Rim, so it could turn out to be entertaining and campy. However, it's completely ridiculous-sounding, so the odds are against it. How Long It Will Last: Unless it manages to pull in a devoted audience like Sleepy Hollow, probably only one season.
Wayward Pines What It Is: Drama What It's About: An idyllic American town... that you can never leave. Who's In It: Matt Dillon, Carla Gugino, Melissa Leo, Tobey Jones, Juliette Lewis and Terrence HowardWhat It Sounds Like: The Stepford Wives meets The Twilight Zone How Good Will It Be: On the one hand, it's got an impressive A-List cast. On the other, it's executive-produced by M. Night Shamylan, so we're hoping it will be good, but expecting it to be terrible. How Long It Will Last: The Shamylan outrage will bring attention to it, resulting in it just barely earning a second season.
Bordertown What It Is: Animated sitcomWhat It's About: Set on a town that borders the US and Mexico, it follows two families as they navigate life, relationships and politics. Who's In It: Alex Borstein, Nicholas Gonzalez, Judah Friedlander, Missi Pyle and Efren RamirezWhat It Sounds Like: American Dad meets The Cleveland ShowHow Good Will It Be: The last time Seth MacFarlane made a show about racial and family dynamics, we got Dads, so we're not optimistic. How Long It Will Last: 5 years at a minimum
Last Man on Earth What It Is: SitcomWhat It's About: After an apocalypse wipes out all of humanity except one man, he wanders the earth looking for other survivors. Who's In It: Will ForteWhat It Sounds Like: Zombieland, minus the other peopleHow Good Will It Be: Forte is hilarious, and his recent dramatic turn in Nebraska will probably serve him well, but it's hard to see how this concept will last longer than one episode. How Long It Will Last: It's a quirky comedy from an SNL alum that isn't Amy Poehler, Tina Fey or Jimmy Fallon. It'll get a year if we're lucky.
Weird LonersWhat It Is: SitcomWhat It's About: Four relationship-phobic weirdoes find each other living next door to one another in a New York apartment. Who's In It: Becky Newton, Zachary Knighton, Nate Torrence and Meera KhumbhaniWhat It Sounds Like: New Girl meets Happy Endings, minus Damon Wayans Jr. How Good Will It Be: The cast is made up of actors who have primarily played the "best friend" role in comedies, so it could be the showcase they need to establish themselves as leading actors. However, the premise seems like a re-tread of most post-Friends comedies, with some forced "quirk," so we don't see things going well. How Long It Will Last: Three out of four actors were on shows that were cancelled relatively soon, so we'd be surprised if this one made it to a second season.
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NBC
On Saturday Night Live, the cast member who anchors Weekend Update has always had a special role to fill on the show. Guaranteed a showcase, they are the one constant in an otherwise ever changing group of sketches.
The originator of the role, Chevy Chase, left after one season to find stardom in movies, setting an example that would be followed going forward: Weekend Update anchors moving on to bigger and better things. You may have heard of Chase's immediate successors — Jane Curtin, Dan Aykroyd, and Bill Murray — all of whom (along with Chase) continue working regularly in film and television 30-plus years later. But how about everyone else who's held the desk?
THE LOST YEARS
When first Jean Doumanian and then Dick Ebersol took over as executive producer after Lorne Michaels exited the show following the 1979 - '80 season, the segment went through a number of changes, including sometimes being called Newsbreak and Saturday Night News. The most prominent host during the early '80s was Brad Hall — known to most, now, as Julia Louis-Dreyfus' husband — who anchored from 1982 - '84. Many of the other anchors during that time — Charles Rocket, Christine Ebersole, Brian Doyle-Murray, and Mary Gross — did the segment for just a year (or less). Most members of this group have faded into the background, although Rocket, who famously dropped an F-bomb during a SNL sketch, made regular appearances on television and movies (Moonlighting, Dances with Wolves) until his death in 2005. Doyle-Murray (Bill's older brother) and Guest were established character actors before joining the show and didn't miss a beat after leaving. Doyle-Murray has been in everything from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation to ABC's The Middle, usually playing some variation of a blowhard. Guest most famously played the six-fingered Count Rugen in The Princess Bride and earned additional praise for directing ensemble comedies like Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show.
THE GOLDEN AGE
Since Michaels took back the reins of SNL in 1985, the format of Weekend Update has remained largely unchanged and the comics that have sat behind the desk have become some of the biggest names in entertainment. But, who's having the best post-SNL career? Starting with the mid '80s, we rank them from worst to best below:
Kevin Nealon (1991 - '94) and Colin Quinn (1998 - 2000)
Most non-hardcore SNL fans would have difficulty remembering anything about either Nealon's or Quinn's stint on Update, so maybe it's not surprising that they've had the least success since leaving the show (although they've still done significantly better than most of the Ebersol folk). Quinn was a stand-up comic before the show and just returned to doing more of the same when he left. He did host a show on Comedy Central for a while, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn. Nealon's biggest success came playing hapless accountant Doug Wilson on Showtime's Weeds. Each is friends with fellow SNL alum Adam Sandler, so Nealon and Quinn also show up occasionally doing cameos in Sandler's films. Lately, we've seen Quinn show up on episodes of Girls as a boss and friend of Alex Karpovsky's character Ray.
Norm Macdonald (1994 - '97)
Like Quinn, Macdonald came to SNL with an established background in stand-up. He had the good fortune to be behind the desk during the O.J. Simpson arrest and trial, which provided endless fodder for the comedian… and possibly led to his dismissal after running afoul of NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer, a friend of Simpson. Macdonald had his own sitcom on ABC for three years (Norm), and keeps a steady schedule of stand-up dates. Besides doing voice-over and commercial work, he's also a frequent guest of Conan O'Brien and, like Quinn and Nealon, has a habit of showing up in movies that Sandler produces.
Seth Meyers (2006 - '14)
Meyers sat behind the Weekend Update desk longer than anyone, and is the only anchor that worked both solo and with a partner. He has only been gone a few months, so it's hard to grade him, but he's off to a rousing start as the host of NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers, maintaining his 30 Rock residence and boss Michaels. We're rooting for you, Seth.
Dennis Miller (1985 - '91)
Miller was the one responsible for returning Update back to something closer to Chase's original version. Unlike most of the others, Miller's sole role on the show was hosting the fake news segment, very rarely taking part in any of the show's sketches. Miller also might be the most controversial of the former anchors. After leaving SNL, he hosted Dennis Miller Live on HBO from 1994 - 2002, winning five Emmys. He also did a disastrous two-season stint as a commentator on ABC's Monday Night Football. After 2001, Miller's political views became increasingly conservative, leading to him to a gig at Fox News with a regular spot on Bill O'Reilly's The O'Reilly Factor. Since 2007, Miller has also hosted a syndicated radio show. Oddly, when Miller is on vacation his frequent fill-in both on radio and with O'Reilly is Macdonald.
Amy Poehler (2004 - '08)
One of the founders of the influential improv group Upright Citizens Brigade, Poehler joined with Tina Fey to form the first all-female team on Weekend Update, and the two have been joined together ever since. Poehler was such a powerful presence on the show that she managed to make an appearance on the segment by frequent target Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin come off as charming instead of forced. Since SNL, Poehler has starred in the movie Baby Mama and has done the voices for more animated characters than we can count. She also just completed her sixth season starring in NBC's Parks and Recreation. Time magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2011 and, oh yeah, and she has a little awards show hosting gig that she does with Fey.
Jimmy Fallon (2000 - '04)
Fallon teamed with Fey to turn Update back into a buzz-worthy segment, with the two of them trading quips at which Fallon would frequently crack up. He tried his hand at movies after leaving the show, starring in Fever Pitch with Drew Barrymore and Taxi with Queen Latifah. It was when he returned to television, however, that he really hit his stride. Starting with taking over for O'Brien on Late Night, Fallon has steadily grown into one of the most powerful people in the entertainment industry as a late night talk show host. In February, he took over for Jay Leno on The Tonight Show, moving it back to New York from Los Angeles and earning accolades for his mix of goofy humor, music, and social media interaction.
Tina Fey (2000 - '06)
During her time on SNL, in addition to co-anchoring Update with first Fallon and then Poehler, Fey was the show's first female head writer. While still on the show, Fey wrote the hit teen comedy Mean Girls, and since leaving has starred in a group of comedies, including Baby Mama with Poehler and most recently Muppets Most Wanted. She wrote, produced, and starred in NBC's 30 Rock for seven seasons, and her book Bossypants was number one on the New York Times bestseller list for five weeks. She's won eight Emmys, most recently for her work hosting the Golden Globes with Poehler, and she was the youngest ever recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Dazzlingly smart and funny, it's hard to find many people that can match resumes with Fey.
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Comedy Central
The brouhaha that erupted over Stephen Colbert being named as successor to David Letterman's chair as host of CBS' The Late Show once again shined a light on the ongoing battle for the hearts and minds of the American public that is still raging between comedians and conservative pundits.
When news broke of Colbert's new role — providing him with potentially a much larger audience than his Comedy Central show The Colbert Report — right-wing commentators, especially Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh went on the offensive, decrying CBS' choice as the potential undoing of America.
It was just the latest volley in the feuds that have been going on for years… or at least since Jon Stewart took over The Daily Show in 1999. When the Hollywood Reporter released its list of the 35 Most Powerful People in New York Media, the list included a healthy dose of both conservative commentators (O'Reilly, Fox News' Megyn Kelly, Sean Hannity) and comedians (Stewart, Colbert, Jimmy Fallon).
It used to be that comedians made fun of politicians and the political types would just ignore it. That was in the days before cable gave comedians significantly more leeway to discuss politics than Johnny Carson could've ever imagined. To counter what they viewed as liberal bias, conservatives developed their own media stars to keep politicians from having to get dirty. So, who's winning the battle?
The Pundits
O'Reilly seems to by turns enjoy his tete-a-tetes with Stewart and to be infuriated by the platform that Comedy Central has given Stewart and Colbert to promote a "liberal agenda." Where he seems to have fun with Stewart, that playfulness doesn't always extend to Colbert, who based his character and show largely on O'Reilly. "Colbert has built an entire career on pleasing the left," O'Reilly said on his show. "It'll be hard to fathom that 40% of Americans who describe themselves as conservative will watch Colbert."
O'Reilly isn't alone in his view that comedians are undermining the message that conservative policymakers are trying to deliver. Conservative commentator Ann Coulter has long sparred with Bill Maher over the views that he expresses on his HBO show. Coulter, whose books include How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must), is a frequent guest on Real Time with Bill Maher, offering a counter to the host on everything from welfare reform to immigration. Elisabeth Hasselbeck, first on The View and now on Fox &amp; Friends, has also frequently called out comedians — most notably her former View co-hosts Rosie O'Donnell and Whoopi Goldberg — while promoting her own largely conservative views on subjects. As President Barack Obama found out, the conservative pundits don’t want politicians in on the joke either. When the President appeared on Zach Galifianakis' web series Between Two Ferns, O'Reilly and others went after what the felt was Obama's flippant treatment of a serious issue (healthcare reform). Of course, when O'Reilly said that "Abe Lincoln wouldn't have done it" it led to a series of jokes.
The Comedians
Really, the comedians largely have it easy. Making fun of politicians is a time honored tradition, and an American birthright. From newspaper cartoonists to Will Rogers to Saturday Night Live, there's always been someone taking shots at the powers-that-be. The difference is that more and more, comedians are offering an actual opinion on their beliefs beyond just the jokes, something that Maher on Politically Incorrect and one of his HBO predecessors Dennis Miller (now a conservative radio host) helped make fashionable. O'Donnell and Janeane Garofalo have long been outspoken on their views on gun control, women's rights, and a variety of other issues. While Stewart, Colbert, John Oliver and the rest of the Daily Show group point out hypocrisy in both political parties — similar to what SNL has done for nearly 40 years — they make little effort to conceal their glee at puncturing holes in the façades of conservative political figures like Michele Bachmann, Ted Cruz, Paul Ryan and Rick Santorum. In a recent commentary on The Daily Beast, comedian Dean Obeidallah opined that conservatives "fear comedy because they aren't good at it."
Not everyone is thrilled with the political influence that comedians like Stewart and Colbert have come to wield. "The problem becomes, are they the principle source of information for the country? Do they begin to move in and occupy the place that Walter Cronkite occupied or Edward R. Murrow occupied?," media analyst Marvin Kalb said. "The unfortunate answer now is 'Yes,' they are occupying that space. The danger there is that people begin to take it too seriously and they begin to think that the joke is the reality."
Whether it's good or bad, there's little doubt that potshots from both sides, pundits and comedians, will continue unabated for the foreseeable future. Hopefully, we know enough as a society not to take either side too seriously… whether they're joking or not.
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www.splashnews.com
It's almost become a game — how many things can be blamed on Miley Cyrus? When she went out on her Bangerz tour, mothers — none of whom had apparently been paying attention to what the singer's been up to since Hannah Montana — took to the web to complain about her antics, comparing the stage show to porn and lamenting the fact that their children had been exposed to it. Joe Jonas wrote a tell-all essay for New York Magazine, where he revealed that it was peer-pressure from Cyrus and Demi Lovato that got him to smoke pot for the first time. When she subsequently lit up a joint on stage in Amsterdam, she was labeled out of control. Months after, she caught a ton of flak for her "twerking" at the MTV Video Music Awards, the Internet exploded with rumors that Cyrus was the real reason behind the break-up of Robin Thicke and his wife, Paula Patton.
Now, Katy Perry is taking shots at the singer after Cyrus tried to kiss her at a concert, telling an Australian television show that she backed away from the smooch because, "God knows where that tongue has been." Even something as simple as being photographed using a teleprompter during a concert in Denver — a practice that did not originate with Cyrus — becomes national tabloid fodder. All that's missing at this point is Vladimir Putin issuing a statement saying that Cyrus is the real cause behind the unrest in the Ukraine.
Do a search for Cyrus' name and you'll return a lot of self-righteous posturing about her habit of not wearing clothes and her professed love of marijuana. The problem with all of this is that when you boil it all down, there's absolutely nothing wrong with what Cyrus is doing. In fact, if anything, it's a savvy career move.
Cyrus' image make-over isn't the first of its kind. When Drew Barrymore wanted to be seen as something more than the girl from E.T., she posed for Playboy and flashed David Letterman on national television. Within the music industry, Cyrus still has a ways to go before she tops the dual masters of self-promotion, Madonna and Lady Gaga. Heck, Madonna was kissing Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera years before Cyrus thought of it, and Gaga has been naked (or nearly) so often that it doesn't even register anymore.
So, why does what Cyrus is doing bother so many people? Is it because there's a segment of the audience that feels like they've watched her grow up on her Disney Channel show? Is it because she comes from a country music background with its more "traditional" values and with none other than Dolly Parton as her godmother? Or is it just that even now, people have difficulty with a young woman flaunting her sexuality?
The truth is that as a culture there are continuous mixed messages about female sexuality. Being sexy is valued, but being overtly sexual can go either way. When Jennifer Lawrence goes on Conan and tells a story about sex aides, it gets treated as something cute. If Kim Kardashian does the same thing, the nicest label that gets attached to her is "vapid." Madonna and Gaga are hailed as smart business women for parlaying an image based largely on sex into millions of dollars, but Spears is continuously portrayed disparagingly for doing the same thing. Cyrus was bashed for the tone of her concerts, but mothers routinely take their daughters to Perry's shows that feature skimpy costumes, stripper poles and a variety of accoutrements tied to her breasts. How does any young female performer that's coming up know what's over the line, when the line isn't the same for any two women?
To her credit, Cyrus does not take the criticism without hitting back. When Jonas made his comments, she responded to the New York Times that, "If you want to smoke weed, you're going to smoke weed. There's nothing that two little girls are going to get you to do that you don't want to do." When Perry called her out, she took to Twitter to shoot back about Perry's ex-boyfriend John Mayer, "Girl if ur worried abt where tongues have been good thing ur ex boo is ur EX BOO cause we all know where THAT (tongue) been."
She also has a sense of humor about it, appearing on Saturday Night Live two different times in the fall to make fun of the furor over her behavior. Parton, who was never shy about using her own sexuality to gain notice, has defended her goddaughter as well, telling a London newspaper, "It's not easy being young. You almost have to sacrifice your damn soul to get anything done."
Unlike Justin Bieber and Lindsay Lohan, Cyrus appears to know exactly what she's doing. If she's to blame for anything, it's for showcasing again the double-standards that get applied to strong, young women.
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Columbia Pictures via Everett Collection
It didn't hit me until Sarah Holcomb's topless scene that I was probably too young to be watching Caddyshack. And the reason it didn't hit me is because it wasn't like the other grown-up movies I would routinely dismiss after catching only quick glimpses on our living room television — this one was funny. At eight years old, I found something very special in the VHS copy of Harold Ramis' directorial debut which had come into my possession that evening in the mid '90s gratis of either my Saturday Night Live-loving father, or golf-obsessed uncle. It wasn't even the first time I had seen Caddyshack — I had at least caught most of it in parts — but it was this particular nighttime viewing that would solidify my lifelong favor of the cacophony at Bushwood. It was the first time a real movie made me laugh.
I would laugh at the red-faced exasperation of Ted Knight, who I knew from Mary Tyler Moore Show reruns (I had taken more quickly to adult sitcoms than movies, either because they were more conducive to my youthful attention span or because laugh tracks gave me helpful hints as to where the comedy was). I would laugh at the zany bravado of Rodney Dangerfield, who I knew primarily via impersonations by cartoon characters. But most of all, I cherished every second we spent with Bill Murray, slurring dopily out of the side of his mouth as he harassed the country club caddies and sought the pelt of a charmingly pesky gopher. I had no idea that adults could revel in this kind of silliness — these people were acting more like cartoons than human beings. And I loved it.
Warner Bros. via Everett Collection
Obviously, I didn't get most of the jokes. I adored Chevy Chase's deadpan swagger and rhythm, but a good deal of his dialogue flew over my head. Dangerfield's benign sexual cracks were gibberish to me. And as for the plot? To its credit or detriment (you decide), the film plays more like a series of tenuously connected hijinks than a coherent narrative. So it didn't really seem to matter that Danny Noonan's quest for a college scholarship skirted my eight-year-old attention. I was far too giddy over Al Czervik's cockeyed brass and Carl Spackler's maniacal mutterings to worry that I might be missing something carrying through. Again, it wasn't until stumbling upon a sex scene that it dawned on me that this might be considered entertainment for adults. How could I have missed so much? There was too much funny to fit anything else in!
In the 18 years since, I have watched Caddyshack more times than I can say, picking up on new layers of comedy with every revisit. In middle school, I upped the ante on my appreciation for the comic value in Judge Smails' perpetually ruffled feathers. In high school, Ty Webb's playful linguistics won my nerdy heart. And in college, I returned again to my love of that big-dreaming assistant greenskeeper, trading impressions with my roommate and fellow fan of all things Bill Murray. As my two decades wading back and forth among these performances have helped me realize, the movie is a menagerie of disparate types of comedy. Deadpan, slapstick, blue, highbrow, naturalistic, wacky, farcical, surreal. And somehow, all of it lands. One movie manages to deliver a winning satirical send-up of the moneyed class, an ultra-memorable Jaws parody about human excrement, and an offbeat conversation about the benefits of breeding one's own hybrid species of Bluegrass.
It works because Caddyshack seems to operate by one rule only: the rule of funny. Abiding not by genre, audience, or even its own original conceit (Caddyshack was originally only about the caddies, with Chase and Dangerfield's characters playing very minor roles), Caddyshack is able to regard humor alone in its execution. The result is something unusual. No, unprecedented. Hell, really damn weird. You can't credit a movie that features a love triangle, a pregnancy scare, a super-intelligent rodent, and an extended non sequitur chapter about a bishop losing his faith after being struck by lightning during a stormy golf game with a reverence to the rules of a specific reality. But Ramis seemed to understand that it was the cooperation of these entities that made them all so damn hilarious.
Warner Bros. via Everett Collection
He understood that the buttoned-up justice of the peace was hilarious because of how humorless he was, especially when at odds with a human joke book running amok on his golf course for no ostensible reason other than boredom. Another movie might have used Smails as a brick wall opposite the wiles of the bawdy Czervik, but Ramis found some of Caddyshack's best comedy in his aluminum straight man. He offered cool, collected Ty as a way to smirk knowingly at the absurdity of the goings on at Bushwood, but jumped delightedly into that same absurdity with the mentally harangued Daffy Duck that was Carl Spackler. Still, as profoundly effective as this equation might be, Caddyshack exists beyond the confines of any formula or mathematical law. Once again, there is only one rule to which Ramis seemed to have devoted himself with Caddyshack. And luckily, he understood "funny" enough to be able to pull this off.
It's the reason why I can find the movie as funny at 25 as I did at eight — this full, non-discriminating commitment to laughter. The devotion to the idea that humor itself is a genre, that a single audience isn't limited to the margins of any specific style of comedy. Ramis showcased this in each of his movies, but in Caddyshack most impressively. Few movies like it were being made back in 1980, and even fewer are now. So beholden to traditional comic beats and story structure, the industry is not likely to find itself trusting an anarchical, id-friendly movie like the one Ramis delivered back at the dawn of the '80s. But the beauty of Caddyshack is its ability to refresh its sense of humor with every viewing — to deliver a new sheath of comedy that you weren't paying attention to last time, because you were too affixed on a separate string of gags altogether. We can go back to Caddyshack every year, every five years, or every decade, finding ourselves laughing the most at a different character each time. The one guarantee: each time, thanks to the brilliant sensibilities of Ramis, we will find ourselves laughing.
So we've got that going for us. Which is nice.
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Synopsis

Documentary looking into the earliest years of Saturday Night Live with extensive interviews, clips, and insights, giving an honest and sometimes brutal look at what made the show a pop culture phenomenon. Shows the meteoric rise to fame of the original cast and how fame, money and egotism tore them apart.